WHEN CODE GOES LOW
Low-code and no-code platforms make building next-generation application services a high-productivity matter, for both IT and business specialists
When code goes low, business gets on a high! You may be blessed with brilliant ideas for killer application services, but you’ll need to deliver them blazingly fast and with the right quality. After all, classic software delivery based on manual work and complex programming languages will only get you so far. It is now easier than ever to construct applications without huge coding efforts. The secret is in powerful, AI-enabled tools that leverage API catalogs, prebuilt templates, and automation to the fullest extent. And these tools are so powerful – yet easy to use – that they get the popular vote of both business and IT people. Exactly what a Technology Business needs.
Desiree Fraser Expert in Residence
WHAT
- Powerful low-code and no-code platforms are available for DIY, “citizen” application development, although professional developers may be equally enthusiastic about their productivity and ease of use.
- Platforms depend on the availability of robust, enterprise-scale API and web service catalogs (both internal and external), open data sets, and tested and proven template galleries.
- Sharing of best practices and collaboratively building on each other’s solutions is a crucial success driver, as also evidenced by the “Maker Culture.”
- AI will quickly assist in creating even more powerful DIY applications without any need for coding.
USE
- The Dutch national railway company, NS, launched a new customer application, Treinwijzer using a Mendix low-code platform, allowing passengers to find out how busy trains are in real time and to choose a different train to avoid crowded cars, enhancing the overall customer journey and experience.
- Clothing retail company, H&M used Microsoft Power Apps to create a mobile app enabling employees to quickly update their status and location. While the solution was only initially intended for the developers’ own team, word spread quickly, and has now been adopted by more than 1,000 employees company wide, proving particularly useful to manage limited office capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force chose Pegasystems to develop a new, joint low-code platform for candidate recruitment. The bespoke public sector application will provide a better experience for both candidates and recruiters, significantly improving existing recruitment cycles and providing reporting analytics for greater insights on the process.
- The city of Kobe, Japan developed a set of apps to respond to citizen calls about crisis-related assistance programs. Using Microsoft Power Platform, the apps allowed citizens to check on their status when applying for relief funds and to access pertinent information via an automated telephone app, chatbot, or website dashboard. In just one month, citizens were provided with an interface to easily access COVID-19-related information, and call volumes dropped by 90%.
IMPACT
- Increased application development productivity, on both sides of the business and IT.
- Enhanced organization agility through a significantly faster time to market for new business applications.
- A cohesive alignment between IT and business functions through personally involved and committed “citizen” application developers, using open, digital platforms.
- More innovative and higher-quality business-facing applications demonstrating enterprise robustness, combined with agile solutions.
- Dealing with a scarcity of specialized software developers, enable more people in the organization – closer to business operations – to quickly develop high-quality solutions without the need for deep skills and experience.
TECH
- High-productivity development platforms: Mendix, OutSystems, Microsoft PowerPlatform, Salesforce Lightning Platform, Betty Blocks, Appian, AppGyver, If This Then That, Thinkwise, Quantum, Pega, Usoft